Honestly, Oliver
by bluechair244
Summary: Thea overhears Felicity giving Oliver whats-for after his Laurel induced moodiness. Conversations carry on. More established relationships than on the show. First fanfic
1. Chapter 1

"Hey," Oliver murmured as he entered Verdant.

"Hey, Ollie," Thea responded, glancing up from the clipboard in her hands. There was no way to miss Oliver's scowlier than usual face. "Hey, what's up with you?"

"Nothing. Did I get a delivery here yet?"

"Yes. It's waiting in your office. Care to share why you need a brand new computer?"

"Nope. Felicity is on her way to help set it up. Send her to my office when she gets here," he said, starting up the stairs.

"Wow, Ollie. Was that a request or a demand," Thea said, annoyed.

Ollie took a deep breath and turned around to face his sister. "Sorry, Speedy. When Felicity gets here could you let her know I'm upstairs?" At Thea's nod he added, "I really am sorry. Bad night, none of it's your fault. I'm sorry for snapping."

"I'll let her know where you are. Need anything before you go up?"

"No. Thank you, Thea. Hi, Roy," Oliver said, heading up the stairs again.

"I know he's your brother, and I'm not trying to talk trash, but his mood swings are like watching 14 year olds at a Bieber concert," Roy said from behind the bar. "Please don't tell him I said that. Who am I kidding? He has supersonic hearing, he probably heard me. He's up there, in his moody-mood, planning out where he's going to hide the body right now."

Thea laughed, "I don't think we have to worry about it. He seemed pretty preoccupied, and for once you aren't the reason. This too shall pass."

"OK, but when you don't hear from me for a few days, I want you to remember this conversation. I also want you to remember that I thought dating you was worth the torture."

"Are you comparing dating Thea to torture," Felicity said as she approached the bar, "cause that's not super romantic."

"Ha, no. He's fearful for his life because he's being snarky about Oliver's PMS."

"Manly. Manly PMS," Roy amended. "And I did not name it, you did. Just so we're clear," he added a little louder.

"Ok, so he's…?" Felicity asked.

"Upstairs," Thea replied. "Wait, I forgot to give him this when he stomped in," Thea said handing felicity a box.

"This is a keyboard. Oh my god. He really did murder his computer. He seriously needs to work on his impulse control…I said that about my boss… out loud. I don't care. I mean it. A grown man and he flies into a fury over that judgmental, brunette hurricane and everyone else needs to batten down the hatches. Not that she's a bad person. I'm not saying that. I don't even know her. He just needs to take a step back. Not that I have an opinion, or a right to an opinion, but geez. If anyone deserves a little peace, it's your brother. And I'm totally not giving my opinion on things I have zero right to give an opinion on. So, I'm gonna stop talking and just, quietly, go upstairs."

Roy waited for Felicity to reach the top of the stairs and start down the hallway before he leaned towards Thea. "Do you think she knows she's like a blonde hurricane?" he whispered.

Thea smiled and was just about to open her mouth when they heard Oliver shout, "Don't be mad." They heard Felicity's even louder, "Honest to god, Oliver. I swear," before the door to his office slammed shut.

Roy doubled over in laughter, holding his sides. Thea smiled bigger. "She may not know it, but she's a whole different kind of wind anyway."

"Stop it…" Roy said coming up behind Thea. 

"Hmm?" she questioned.

"You've been staring a hole into that wall since the office door slammed. We're hitting," he said glancing at his watch, "the twenty minute mark. Honestly, I'm afraid of what's going through your mind."

"It's nothing really. She's just around a lot. He can't really be that horrible with computers."

"Your argument is a little invalid since his computer is currently in pieces, many pieces, scattered across his office floor."

"I mean outside of today," Thea said, rolling her eyes. She sighed. "I just…he's my brother and he tries, but he's not really comfortable around anyone anymore, and he's comfortable around her. He walks around this club, making his appearance, mingles a bit, but I feel like he's practically crawling out of his skin the whole time. I've even caught him taking a breath before facing the masses, like he's bracing himself for the chaos. She's this frenetic ball of energy and he seeks her out."

"I think you're reading too much into it."

"Maybe. I'm going to see if they want lunch."

Thea made her way up the stairs and down the hall. She listened outside the door for a minute and hearing nothing, knocked. She found Oliver sitting on his office sofa with a strange look on his face.

"Hey," she said cautiously.

"Hi. Again," Felicity said smiling in Thea's direction. She threw an annoyed glance towards Oliver and turned back to the computer.

"Does Felicity look more angry or more annoyed to you?" he asked Thea when she stepped in. "She's not usually one for the quiet scowly look for such an extended period of time, and I can't get anything more than, 'hello,' and 'I'm almost done,' out of her."

Thea noticed the slight edge to Oliver's voice and the stiffening of Felicity's body in response. "I'm probably not the best judge of that. For example, when you came in you were Captain Cranky pants and now you seem to have removed the proverbial stick from…" 

"Thea," Oliver warned.

"Wherever it was embedded. Or not. My mood radar must be on the fritz," Thea continued, ignoring him but earning a small chuckle from Felicity.

Oliver narrowed his eyes at his sister. "Are you here for a reason?"

"Roy and I are ordering lunch. Do you guys want anything?"

"Sure. Nothing with peanuts, though."

Felicity quietly snorted. "Don't worry about me, Thea. I really am almost done, but thank you."

"Felicity…" Oliver started, but was cut off by another glare from Felicity.

"Ok, then," Thea said glancing from Felicity to Oliver. "I'll let you know when it's here."

Twenty minutes later Roy was carrying bags of food over to the bar.

"I'll go grab your brother."

"No. Nope. No, I got it," Thea said, jumping off her stool.

"Are you going to do it in a suspiciously quiet way?"

"Yes. Shut up."

Thea reached the door, which she had managed to leave open a crack. All she heard was the clacking of Felicity's steady fingers on the keyboard. She was just about to knock and open the door when she finally heard Felicity speak.

"Ok. I actually am done here, so I'm gonna go."

"Felicity, stop. Please, give me a second here," he said, walking over to the desk.

Felicity picked a piece of paper up and held it out to him, "These are the passwords you'll need to get into each program. I wrote down the steps to put new passwords of your choosing in."

"I don't need to change the passwords," he mumbled, taking the paper from her.

"It's the same setup as last time, with a few upgrades. You'll have no problem using it."

"Felicity, I'm just trying to understand what the silent treatment is all about."

She sighed and Thea could hear her pushing the chair back, "No, you're uncomfortable with what you think is the silent treatment. It's really not. I just have some opinions and, for once, instead of putting my foot in my mouth, I am trying very hard to keep them to myself. There are facts and then there are opinions and we do not have the kind of relationship, not that this is a 'relationship' relationship, where…Oh god, it's already happening. We have a communication style that involves facts. Not opinions."

"I ask your opinion all the time."

"Not about this kind of thing. I know you well enough to know that this time you really don't want to hear what I want to say."

"I'm asking anyway."

"You don't understand what you're asking. I don't want to fight with you. Right now you're asking me to cross a line, Oliver. I'm not comfortable with that, and really once I get rolling there is no telling just how inappropriate that might get. The best course of action here is for me to go, and work this out in my head and then we'll never have to talk about it and you won't glare me to death with your very angry eyes."

"Consider this your glare free moment. Everything bottled up; just let it out," he said, dropping down to the sofa and spreading his arms wide. "Hit me with your best shot."

"See, that right there. You're already gearing up for a showdown," Felicity sighed. "Like you could go ten minutes without a glare," she scoffed.

"Felicity," he chuckled, "just say it."

"You left the office last night with a smile on your face. You were coming out here to finish some stuff up and make an appearance, and then you were going to go home and take a night off."

"I remember all this."

"Give me a minute. I'm working up to it…stop with the face. I am trying to get through this without the verbal diarrhea explosion. You texted me that stupid joke just after 11..."

"It wasn't stupid," he interrupted.

"Which you said when you called at 11:30 to try and explain the joke. You know, if you have to explain the joke it's not really funny. Anyway, during your abysmal explanation, in walks a loud and pissed off Laurel Lance railing about how disappointed she was with your limited involvement in her Glades mentor program. You said you'd call back, but at 1:30 in the morning, I get a text ordering me to show up here, on a Saturday, to fix your computer."

"So you're mad I didn't call you back. It was late and I wasn't really fit for human interaction. Sorry," he said in a voice that meant he was clearly not sorry.

Felicity sighed again and Thea found herself having to hold back a sigh of her own. "It's not about the phone call, or me. It's a little bit about the fact that I know you anonymously donated a large chunk of money to them, which I'm sure you didn't even bother to tell her…" Felicity trailed off.

"Then what is it about, cause I gotta tell you I'm starting to feel a little glare-y," Oliver said, standing up.

"No, I knew this was a bad idea and I'm not gonna go there. I'll see you Monday," Felicity said, grabbing her jacket and bag and heading towards the door. Thea was about to spin around and sprint down the hallway when she saw Oliver reach toward Felicity.

"Felicity just spit it- -"

"You are not responsible for Laurel Lance's disenchantment with the world," Felicity yelled. "I only said that out loud because you made me. Oh, my god. I don't think Laurel is a bad person. I mean you love her for a reason. Guilt love her or love love her," Thea hands flew up to cover her mouth while Felicity carried on. "I just…she doesn't know you and sometimes I think you like it that way, because as much as that hurts, it keeps her just far enough away that she can't see the real you. And it always seems to come back to this need for her to have your apology and you to have her forgiveness, but it doesn't matter if you don't forgive yourself. Every time you go near her you can't figure out which you to be. And god, it's exhausting to watch, and clean up after; I can't even imagine what it's like to go through," Felicity took a deep breath.

"I didn't ask you here to clean up after some emotional mess you think exists."

"You're my friend and that's my job. And that's not really what I meant anyway."

"Then what did you mean?"

"I like you, Oliver. You. Oliver Queen. As is. The guy you are now. I mean you're fun to look at, duh, Jesus. Wow. Ok. But who you are now: The guy who stands up in this city to try and make it a better place. And god knows you are so, so not perfect. You're a little more than rough around the edges, and the playboy thing gives the outside world enough gossip to keep the real you out of their crosshairs, but you still hide it so much from the people around you, the people that really care. I get why. I mean, you know I get why. Sort of. The part I don't understand is why you let yourself be Laurel Lance's personal punching bag. You don't deserve it. Why don't you stand up to her when she's taking it all out on you?"

"It was my fault."

Thea barely held in her gasp at hearing her brother's broken voice. Through the crack in the door she saw Felicity move towards the couch and moved a few steps down the hall. While she thought she would have a prime view of Oliver getting his brooding ass handed to him by Felicity, she now realized she was eavesdropping on an intimate conversation. As much as she wanted to respect the trust Oliver felt with Felicity, she couldn't pull herself away from the door.

"Oliver…"Felicity started.

"Every time I let her down, every time she thinks I'm not being honest…every time she wakes up without her sister and Tommy in her life. That doesn't come from nowhere. The way she sees the world is my fault. I can take this hits and I deserve them, from her more than anyone else."

"Oliver, Laurel lost you, and Sara, and Tommy. I am sorry about that, truly. But you lost the same, and you paid for it. Five years of penance is enough. Five years of penance where nothing good ever happened. You need to stop punishing yourself for the things you both lost that were beyond your control, otherwise all this…rebuilding… isn't worth anything."

"Felicity, I…"

"No, just let me get this last bit out before I realize just how over the line this is and chicken out cause I'm already getting lightheaded it's important to me that you understand what I'm trying to tell you," she took a deep breath. "You deserve to smile. You deserve to be you more than anyone I've ever met. You've earned it Oliver. And maybe you can be you with Laurel, but only if you choose to really be here now. Choose to be whole, because you deserve that, too."

"There are things," he started.

"I know that. I'm not telling you to start an online journal detailing your trials and tribulations. Maybe a workout blog. With pictures. God that would make money. Tons..."

"Felicity…"

"Right, back on track. There are things you play close to the chest. You are allowed those secrets, and allowed to share them with whoever you want, whenever you're ready. But you do good as Oliver Queen, and for some reason you hide that, especially from Laurel and then you just bear it when she comes down on you like you are solely responsible for all the evils of the world. It makes me angry, like loud voice, sweary angry. I am not a natural curser, Oliver. It comes out dirty, and not tough dirty, but like, dirty triple x dirty. It loses all its angry emphasis and it's just loud, porny talk."

"Which is probably twice as hard for you to hold back," he said quietly.

Felicity gave him a small laugh, "All I'm sure of is that you spent an entire day, hard at work lining up some other donors for the Glades Mentor Program, and came out of it with your accomplishment smile on your face. You were still on an even keel when we talked later. Two hours after that, all bets were off. And here we are, with mutilated computer equipment, which you know hurts me in my special place. And by special place I mean my heart or my soul, and no other place. Ok, now I'm going off the rails. Speaking of souls, you have a good one, and while I have no idea what really went down last night, it doesn't trump that fact. You, my billionaire friend, who already owns so much, you better own that good piece of you, too, ok?"

"I'll think about it."

"Ok. I'm really gonna go now," Thea could hear Felicity putting on her coat and started moving away from the door, "but Oliver, that deal we made a long time ago; it's a two way street. If you ever need to tell someone about your day, you can tell me, too."

Thea barely managed to school her features as Felicity and Oliver stepped through the door. "I was just coming to get you guys," she said, "lunch is here."

"I was up late and then up early," Felicity said as they started down the stairs. "I think I am going to go home, apologize to the microprocessor gods on Oliver's behalf, and take a nap."

"I'll make a deal with you," Oliver said, grabbing Felicity's elbow and leading her towards the bar where Roy was already digging into his lunch. "I'll put some extra thought into what you said if you stay for lunch. It's the least I can do considering I'm the cause of the odd hours."

"Are you kidding me?" a new and annoyed voice said from behind the group. Thea did not miss the instant change in Oliver's demeanor or the scowl his previously smiling face now shown. "Did we not just talk about this last night? Days, nights, weekends. Is there some invisible cord attaching you to your secretary since the incessant phone calls and texts aren't enough? Maybe I can have her schedule an appointment for you to actually fit me in when the two of you aren't already otherwise occupied."

"Laurel, come on…" Oliver started.

"God, I'm sorry. That was rude," Laurel began to apologize.

"No. Of all people I understand your mouth running off on you and the thing that comes out is not what you meant to say, at least out loud," Felicity said, muttering the last part. "Anyway, Mr. Queen and I were just discussing how I would be taking a few personal days. So," she said, turning to Oliver, "I'll see you on Wednesday and not a minute before…if you know what's good for you. Which of course you do, since you are a very healthy person…physically. And maybe your new secretary will bring you coffee. Not that I am just a secretary, or a secretary at all..I just…the computer…stuff. Remember, personal days. I have to um…go…and."

"You do," Thea mercifully interrupted Felicity, "we do, actually. We have to go. We're going to lunch."

"I didn't know you were friends," Laurel said.

"We share similar opinions on weather systems," Thea replied earning a barely covered up laugh from Roy. She looped her arm through Felicity's, smiling at the clearly shocked woman.

"What does that even mean?" Laurel said, turning to Oliver for help.

"I thought you ordered lunch for here," Oliver said, ignoring Laurel.

"Nope," Thea replied while still dragging Felicity towards the door.

"You said you were."

"Well, I didn't."

"You said it was here."

"I lied," Thea sing-songed, earning a snort from Roy.

"What's Roy eating?"

Thea turned around, heaving a dramatic sigh. "I don't know, Oliver. He's in charge of himself. Why are you interrogating me? My friend and I are going to lunch," she said, raising a challenging eyebrow at her brother.

"Ok," he said. Thea, Felicity in tow, started again towards the door until Oliver called out. "Felicity, I'll see you…"

"But not until Wednesday," she said, smiling at him.

Oliver slowly nodded, and then, as a smile lit up his face, shrugged, "we'll see."

"Really, Oliver," Felicity and Laurel exclaimed at the same time. Roy choked on his food.

"Come on," Thea said, finally dragging Felicity to the door. "Oliver has things to think about, and because I am not one to miss an opportunity, we have things to talk about." She spared a final glance at her still smiling brother and ushered Felicity out the door.


	2. Honestly, Thea

After three phone calls, the promise of a special catered lunch for the secretarial pool, and what sounded suspiciously like a threat of blackmail, Felicity managed to find a replacement Executive Assistant for Oliver.

"That was way too much work for two days," Thea said as they pulled into the parking lot of Café Maneo. "Isn't there some gravitas associated with being the CEO's EA? You practically had to promise a medal to whoever agreed to cover you."

"Ah, well your brother has very specific needs and he has a bit of a reputation as being difficult and…"

"Felicity," Thea said, rolling her eyes. "I've actually had to deal with the man; I don't need the sugarcoating."

"Sorry, forgot who I was talking to for a minute. He's a giant pain in the ass sometimes, and honestly, he scares some of the other secretaries. Last month when I went to an IT conference they brought in two women to double-team him. I was gone for four business days, and no one wanted to do it alone. They literally moved in a second desk…Thea, what are you doing," Felicity spun around to face Thea who had stopped dead in her tracks, mouth hanging open.

"Two women were doing what to my brother?" Thea asked, pressing her lips together.

"They double…tag teamed? Is that any better? Ah. Why do you torture me like that? Anyway... I think he just does it because he is a bit of a control freak," Felicity said holding her thumb and forefinger centimeters apart, "but I get phone calls the entire time I'm gone. He whines about the temps, they find very diplomatic ways to tell me he's being an asshole, and Diggle…I'm not gonna even go there…let's just say the man is an entertaining narrator. All I know is Oliver does not need nearly that much hand holding when I am there."

"Maybe you're just immune to his crap. You have a way of knowing what he needs before he needs it. You're good at handling my brother," Thea said. The buzzing of her phone stopped whatever reply was working its way out of Felicity's mouth.

_**Abandoner! You are an abandoner!**_

Thea turned her phone so Felicity could see what Roy had written. Both women burst out laughing.

Thea texted back: _**take your stuff back to the kitchen. That was an excessive amount of exclamation points.**_

_**I'm not SORRY! I tried to leave. Your brother death glared me. He did this little shake of his head that said 'I'll murder you if you leave'…Thea, I swear he heard that PMS comment…I loved you. Past tense, cause either he is going to kill me or the AWKWARDNESS of this situation is going to kill me.**_

"Sometimes he is such a baby," Thea said, setting the phone down.

They quietly looked over their menus but Thea realized she wasn't hungry anymore. Everything she overheard between Felicity and her brother was running through her head on a loop. As much as she knew the island changed her brother, and as much as she knew he loved her, she still felt in the dark about so many things. Once in awhile she tried bringing it up to Oliver but she'd spend so long on the workup trying to ease him into it that by the time she had her courage built up, he was already shutting the conversation down.

Felicity was so…involved with her brother, and Thea could admit, at least in her head, that she was jealous of that. She'd seen them: Oliver, Diggle, and Felicity, have entire conversations that consisted of glares, eyebrow raises, and greatly exaggerated sighs. She's seen them seamlessly maneuver through a crowded room of people, never stopping, but managing to make a charming impression nonetheless. She'd seen Felicity materialize out of thin air to bail her brother out of uncomfortable situations; Diggle two steps ahead already waiting to facilitate an exit. And in moments she was sure other people didn't notice it even happening, Thea had seen Felicity talk her brother down with a small hand gently squeezing his arm.

For a second Thea could understand where Laurel was coming from, and she really wasn't sure how to feel about it.

"Theeeaaaa, Thea Queen," Felicity's whisper-shout finally pulled Thea out of her trance. "I ordered you a salad since you were off in la-la-land. Must have been a pretty deep moment, too, cause you got about four texts while you were gone."

"Sorry, let's see," she said picking up her phone. "'Roy would like to be buried in a red suit.' That is so tacky," she said, texting him the same. "'Oliver and Laurel are eating too slowly. Where am I?' Seriously, can he not respect a little girl time?"

"Roy's whininess notwithstanding, where were you just now?"

"Just thinking about my brother…and Laurel. I mean, what was her problem today. It was rude, and while Laurel can shoot off her mouth like a pro, she's usually a little more veiled than that. It really kinda pissed me off to be honest with you."

"Yes, well I really try to keep my nose out of the 'Laurel Lance Situation' as much as I can. She's been on your brother about participating in the mentor program. He thinks, although he would never say it out loud, that he's not really someone who should be considered a mentor. So, he's been throwing money at the program, but trying to keep his name out of it."

"But he's been putting together that speed-dating/charity auction thing for two months. He has been driving me crazy with details. I though Laurel was on board with that?" Thea asked as their food was set in front of them.

"She is, as far as I know. She kept pestering him about it, and he just kept saying he was handling it. Everything I've seen so far shows he _is _handling it. He gets excited talking about it and I think he's actually looking forward to it. He's working on a few last minute liability things, things a lawyer would handle, that Laurel would be able to handle. It's the perfect way to involve her. Can he tell her any of that, though? No, of course not. So certain other people, people who have had secretarial duties thrust upon them, have to deal with three phone calls a day from someone resembling an angry, neurotic busy body because your brother can't use his big boy lips to make words. Ugh. They are hopelessly exhausting. Not that I have an opinion, of course on things that are none of my business."

"He's your friend. It's your business, Felicity. You get to have an opinion on it."

"Regardless," she said, waving her hand in the air, "I'm done with this salad. Let's go for a walk, get some ice cream, and torture Roy for another half hour or so…"

"Sounds perfect," Thea responded. They left the café, grabbed ice cream from a nearby vendor and started walking through the park.

"Felicity, we've been friends for awhile, right?" Thea asked, settling onto a bench away from anyone else.

Felicity let out a small laugh and sat down. "Long enough for me to know that phrase usually means one of three things: One, you need forged documents, which I swear Thea, was a onetime thing. I don't want to know what it was for…ever, but it will never, never happen again. Don't look at me like that. I couldn't look your brother in the eyes for days. That does not make for a smooth working relationship. And if your mother ever found out…she could have me put in prison or murdered…" 

"Felicity…" Thea said, shaking her head. 

"She is a billionaire. She could make it happen."

"Yeah, very likely," Thea deadpanned. "You had good reason to do it, I promise. Now, carry on."

"Yes, reason number two: You're going to do something you don't want me to tell your brother you're doing…which is sometimes, on a very limited basis, an ok thing. The third reason involves you asking me things, usually about your brother, that I don't feel comfortable answering or don't know how to answer."

Thea sighed. She'd felt a door opening when she overheard Felicity and Oliver's conversation, and was afraid the door wouldn't stay open for long. She took a deep breath. "What did Ollie tell you about the island?"

"Thea, we've had this conversation."

"No," Thea interrupted, "we've walked around this conversation. Miles and miles around it, but we've never really talked about it."

"Because it is a conversation you should have with your brother. Take what he's willing to share and become content with it."

Thea debated with herself for a minute. "You said nothing good ever happened."

Felicity became completely still. "Thea, that was a very private conversation."

"Five years, Felicity," Thea responded, her eyes filling with tears. "Five. And he doesn't say anything about it, so now the only thing I know is five years of nothing good."

"Oh," Felicity let out on a breath. "Exactly how long were you listening?"

"Long enough to know you crossed a line."

"Wow. I'm sorry you feel that way. I warned Oliver. And it's not like I enjoy poking his wounds but…god, the pity party punching bag has got to stop. And if you think for one second I enjoyed telling your brother things I know he doesn't want to hear, well, you're crazy. Crazy, Thea. Not that I am calling you…I don't think you're crazy. There is nothing wrong with crazy…and, obviously," she continued, waving a hand wildly at herself and gritting her teeth, "the longer a person is around your brother the less balanced they become. I'm sorry, Thea."

"No, no, no," she said grabbing Felicity's hand in her own. "Felicity, I don't think you actually crossed a line. I mean you crossed your line. Not that I think you and Ollie have lines, not really, and not as much as you think. And certainly not as much as you think other people think you have. But if anyone was to cross a line with him, I'd prefer it was you. I think he'd prefer that, too." Thea paused. "Oh my god, it's contagious."

"It's the eavesdropping guilt."

"Please don't be too mad at me. I worry about him so much. Since he came back it's like having to learn a whole new person. A person who doesn't trust me…" 

"It's not about trust. There's a lot of that needed, but that's not the defining factor for your brother where you're concerned. Your brother trusts you. He loves you more than anyone else on this planet, Thea. I think that's the part that keeps him from telling you."

"I know he loves me. But he still keeps so much from me."

"Maybe it's not your business to worry about."

"He's my brother. It is my business," Thea said back angrily. "I thought if anyone would understand why I need to know, it would be you. Why do you get to know and I don't? I'm his sister."

"Let me explain. Your brother and I don't sit around talking about the island. He's never talked about the day to day things he endured. I don't know the intimate details of how he survived. The things I know, I know out of necessity. There are some things I've pieced together. But, yes, as far as I know, nothing good ever happened."

"And he should be able to talk to his sister about it. I'm not going to judge him for it. It's hard to see how sad he is sometimes and know that he's right back there. All alone."

"He doesn't need you to fix his past for him. What he needs is his sister: the person who loves him despite all his many and obvious flaws…and there is a whole bunch. You count on him without this default idea that he's going to screw up. When he does screw up, you don't treat him like it's because of a fatal flaw in his character. That's a gift to him Thea. He doesn't need you to fix his past. He needs you in his present to help him keep movin' forward."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, it is. Can I suggest something?"

"Well, you're sorta on a wisdom roll, so I wouldn't want to kibosh that," Thea said, smiling.

"Give yourself a break, too. I know you worry about him. He really is pretty ok right now, by the way…Laurel notwithstanding. I know you're not going to stop worrying about him, but you've been spending a lot of time trying to reconcile the different versions of your brother. Let it go a little. See him now. Look at him now. Don't worry about why he's doing that _horrendous_ fake smile; instead pay attention to what's happening when he gives you the real one. Stop trying to merge the versions of Oliver together. Back from the dead Oliver is still Oliver, and slowly you're gonna see all the things you love are still there, just in a slightly more fit, and grumpy package."

"It's hard to see him pretending so much."

"But the less he has to pretend to be who you remember, the more time he'll have to just be him."

"Okay."

"Okay. And I think this whole day has been a sign I need to layoff the inspirational YOUTUBE videos."

Thea laughed, "I wondered where all this sage, yet forceful advice was coming from all the sudden."

"Hey, most of it was mine, but I'll admit I was binge watching. There's this one that has parts of Rocky Balboa. Rocky's all like: 'You stopped bein' you. You let people stick a finger in your face and tell you you're no good'. It fueled my fire."

Thea laughed as her phone went off again.

_**Apparently we are going to the fair tonight…with your brother…and Laurel…You are buying ALL the snacks. All of them.**_

_**THEA!**_

"How about we head back and you can rescue Roy while I go home and actually take a nap. I've worked hard today."

"You have, and thank you."

"You're always welcome, you know that."

"I do. Can I ask you a question?" Thea asked as they were heading back to Verdant.

"Oh, god."

"Why didn't you correct her when she called you a secretary?"

"Laurel? I did."

"No, you sorta rambled it. And you are way more than a secretary to Ollie"

"I guess I did mumble a bit. But your brother didn't exactly correct her either, now did he?" Felicity said, giving Thea a small smile. "Anyway, if there's one thing I've learned from your brother it's this: 'It ain't about how hard you get hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep movin' forward'. Laurel Lance can lob as many low blows as she wants; I know who I am."

"You learn that from Rocky, too?"

"Yes…I guess that one was a little transparent."

"Ah," said Thea, "the whole mimed right hook is what really gave it away."

"I have got to learn to reign that stuff in."

Thea was quiet the rest of the ride back as Felicity fiddled with her phone. As much as she was really going to try to take everything Felicity said to heart, as much as she was going to make it a priority to dwell less in Oliver's past, she still needed to have a conversation with her brother. They arrived at the club and Felicity made her way to her car.

"Hey," Thea said before Felicity got in, "I'm busy Monday, but do you wanna spend the day together Tuesday, since you're taking a couple personal days?"

"Oh, how I wish I could. All that shuffling…and scheming only bought me Monday. Honest to god, your brother…well, you know."

"I really do," Thea responded. "Somehow I think you think he's worth it, though."

Felicity smiled a smile Thea instantly recognized as a real one. "I really do," Felicity said as she got into her car and drove away. 

_Yes,_ Thea thought, _she had many things to talk to her brother about._


	3. doubletag-teamed

**A/N:** Okay, so here's what happened: I started something else, that will probably never see the light of day, and I got very sidetracked by that, and very stuck on this. As an 'I'm sorry this took FOREVER' apology, here are 4,000+ words for you.

Reminder: The character relationships are more established here than on the show; except yucky Laurel, cause there is no fixing that train wreck.

Warning: Tenses were at war with one another, rogue commas multiplied like bunnies, and unicorn poop was discussed. I do not apologize for the unicorn poop; it made me laugh.

* * *

The five years her brother was dead notwithstanding, Thea Queen had a pretty great childhood. Most of her best memories involved Oliver, or Oliver and Tommy. Oliver _now_ was a big adjustment. Ever since he came back a different person she watched and waited for her brother to come back. She treasured the real smiles and tried to give him passes on the fake ones. She could throw him a bone; he did spend 5 years on a deserted island-although she didn't completely buy that either.

Nights like this were golden. He was laughing and smiling, and actually being nice to Roy. She couldn't pinpoint when that happened exactly, or why, but she'd wasn't dumb so she wasn't gonna poke at it. They had gotten to the fair and immediately hit the food stands mostly to appease Roy who was still, understandably, put out from his forced lunch date with Laurel and Oliver.

They'd done a few rides and played a few games until the carnival staff became disgruntled because Oliver did not miss, and Roy could knock anything down. They'd given everything they'd won away to sad-faced kids, except a unicorn that Oliver kept tucked under his arm.

The fair was wrapping up but Laurel excitedly ran up to one final ride. "I love this ride," she exclaimed, "let's do this one before we go."

"Oh," Oliver said, letting out a puff of air. "That's a ship. A ship, that swings upside down and all around. I'm gonna pass on that one."

"Oh, come on," Laurel replied. She stuck out her lip and gave him puppy-dog eyes. "It'll be fun."

Thea saw a flicker of annoyance flash across Oliver's face, and just as one of his fake smiles started to lift to his lips she decided to sacrifice Roy…again.

"Why don't you and Roy go? I'll hang here with scaredy-pants, maybe we'll hit the Ferris wheel like we used to."

Roy plastered a smile on his face, eyes wide. "That sounds…awesome," he said to Laurel. He pulled Thea in, kissing her cheek and whispering into her ear, "whyyyy?"

"I love you," she whispered back. She pulled her hand from Roy's death grip, looped her arm through Oliver's, and pulled him away. "Take her twice," she said over her shoulder, "in case the other line is long."

Oliver laughed quietly as Thea dragged him away. "What?"

"Did he do something to piss you off?" Oliver asked.

"No," she said, shoving at his shoulder. "Are you implying that hanging out with Laurel is a punishment?"

"Thea," he said, aiming for mildly annoyed, but Thea caught the small smirk before he looked away.

"I'm mostly kidding. Laurel's been kinda…sharpish lately." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "I just want to hang out with my brother a little."

He smiled. "All you have to do is ask. You do know that, right?"

"Yeah, but you are a busy guy, so it's nice to have a little time now."

"It is." They reached the front of the line for the Ferris wheel and handed over their tickets. They climbed into their cart and Thea scooted right up to Oliver. He put his arm around her shoulders. "I think the last time we did this you were 11. I missed so much of your life," he murmured.

"You're here now." They sat quietly for a moment. "So, today I learned that Felicity may have an unhealthy obsession with Stallone."

"Is that a computer program?"

Thea laughed. "We had a really nice conversation at lunch. She was filled with wisdom. I mean, she always great for bouncing ideas off of or helping talk me down from my Roy induced rages…or maybe she just talks so long and fast I forget why I was mad." She smiled. "It's like she has super-powers or something, you know?"

He laughed. "Yeah, I know exactly what you mean."

"So she was filled with wisdom and gave part of the credit to one of the Rocky movies."

"I was on the receiving end of some of that today, too."

"Did it help?"

"We'll see." He huffed out a small breath. "She wasn't wrong about a lot of what she was saying, but that doesn't mean it sticks like it probably should, but I promised her I would think about what she said, and I am trying to do that."

"I was surprised you know, when you made Felicity your EA. I'm glad now, I mean what would we do without her? Back then, though, she was this person I barely knew and you were trusting her with our family business; essentially all of our family business."

"Well, that was probably the single easiest decision I've ever made as a CEO."

"How did you know you could trust her?"

"She's Felicity."

Thea sighed. Sometimes she wondered if Oliver was intentionally evasive; if he didn't know, or he just didn't want to share. "Before she was 'Felicity'. What was it that made

you sure?"

"Honestly?"

"No, lie to me. My favorite is when people do that. God, Oliver, I am trying to have a conversation with you."

Oliver tugged Thea a little closer, rubbing his thumb up and down her shoulder. "She gave me the chance to decide if I was going to trust her." Thea could tell he wasn't done, and if Oliver was really going to try to take what Felicity said to heart, so was Thea, so she waited him out. "I had a lot of stuff to figure out, a lot of people wanting to know everything that happened, and so many questions. Felicity… I needed some help navigating stuff when I got back and even though I fed her some really unbelievable…"

"Bullshit."

He laughed. "Yeah, it was bullshit. She made it very clear she wasn't being fooled, but she always stepped up to help. Felicity has a very low bullshit tolerance, but she didn't pry and it never felt like she was fishing for some juicy piece of gossip. It was nice to come back and have someone around who wasn't looking for dirt on Ollie Queen."

"I wasn't looking for dirt on Ollie Queen."

He sighed. "I…Thea, it was hard to be back here. I'm not the person everyone was hoping to see when I came back. In a lot of ways I am _nothing_ like person I was before the yacht, but I still had a lot to make up for; with Felicity I didn't have anything to make up for. She was easy to be around." Thea sucked in a breath, but Oliver quickly continued. "It wasn't a trade off: you for her."

Thea was quiet as the Ferris wheel came to a stop at the bottom. She stood up to exit when Oliver handed the guy at the door a fifty dollar bill. "Could you take us around a little longer?" he asked. At the guys nod he turned to Thea and asked, "Is that ok?"

She sat back down and waited for them to start moving. Oliver's arm was no longer around her, so she grabbed his hand. "Sometimes I can understand why Laurel is jealous of Felicity. You're open with her and seeing the two of you together, how much you trust her, and how she fits into all the parts of your life, how you let her take care of you, it's like a slap in the face."

"Laurel needs to understand…"

"I'm not talking about Laurel. I'm talking about me. About why you couldn't trust your own sister but you do trust this complete stranger. And I get why, now, because she _is_ Felicity, but I love you no matter what, too. No matter what, Oliver, and you still keep me in the dark about so much. I don't understand why you can't trust me to help you, too."

Oliver leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His head was bowed and Thea could hear him take a deep breath. She tried to pull her hand from his but he tightened his grip. He finally sat up and ran his free hand over his face. "It's a burden to carry."

"And I'm not twelve years old. I…"

Oliver turned his head to face her. "No, you're not. You're the person in my life that…just knowing you're here, and happy, and safe, it helps keep me grounded. I love you so much and I know you're here, but that just knowing part means more to me than you will ever know. I should tell you that more. I'm sorry I don't."

Thea knew she should, like Felicity said; take what he was willing to give, but the part of her that missed her perpetually happy brother had to know for sure. "Are you ever going to tell me what happened to you?"

"I'm going to try not to, and it's not because I don't trust you; it's because I love you so, so much."

"But..."

"I can't. Part of being a big brother is protecting your little sister. I didn't get to do that for a really long time, but now I can, and this is part of it. It was brought to my attention that I need to live more for now and let some of my past go. The island is something I am trying to let go of, as much as I can, but I can't do that if we're both still reliving it. It was… horrible would be an understatement, but you knowing the details won't help either one of us. You'll know things you don't need to, and I'll." He stopped for a moment, staring out of the basket as it descended. Thea gave his hand a squeeze and he looked at her. "I'll always wonder who you're seeing when you look at me."

"Oliver," she said, pulling him into a hug.

He let out a heavy breath. "I just want you to see your brother."

Thea hugged him tighter. "Ok." They pulled apart as the ride came to a stop and headed back to where they'd left Roy and Laurel. Just before they reached the ride, Thea tugged on Oliver's hand. "I just want you to be happy," she said when he stopped.

He pulled her close and kissed her temple. "Spending time with you makes me happy."

"Duh," she said, causing Oliver to burst out laughing. They watched the ship Roy and Laurel were on spin around a few more times before it started to slow. Thea shook her head and smiled a little. "She said you would say something like that."

"Hmmm?" Oliver said, tilting his head, confused.

"Felicity. She pretty much said that the best way for me to help you was just to be me around you so you could be you around me." She crinkled her nose. "I'm not sure if that came out right."

Oliver smiled and Thea noticed it was one of the real ones. "That sounds very much like something she would say."

"I'm glad she's around."

"Me, too."

The ship came to a stop and Laurel and Roy made their way off the ride and towards Oliver and Thea. "You guys have fun on your girly ride?" Roy teased as they met up.

Thea poked him in the ribs while Oliver narrowed his eyes. "Yes, best ride of the night, which means you have a lot to make up for, smart guy." She wiggled her eyebrows at him.

"I'm going to pretend there's no innuendo in there. You guys ready?" Oliver asked.

After a general chorus of 'yeahs' they made their way to the car. Thea smiled at her brother as she climbed into the seat behind Laurel. Thea Queen did not consider herself a stupid person by any definition of the world. She fully understood that Oliver had, once again, shut her down about what had happened on the island. While she didn't have any more details than before it felt different. It felt like permission to move forward, and she thought that was a good idea for all of them.

"That was a lot of fun. I'm glad we did it," Thea said grabbing Roy's hand. "We should do this kinda stuff more often, maybe even see if we can get them to go down to the Glades. I'll talk to mom and Felicity; see if we can make it a family sponsored event," she continued, catching Oliver's smile in the rearview mirror.

"Yes, the secretary. She's never far away, is she?" Laurel mumbled from the passenger seat.

"You know what, Laurel," Thea started only to be interrupted by Roy's sharp, "Executive Assistant."

"What?" Laurel said leveling Roy with an annoyed look.

"Executive Assistant. You keep saying 'secretary' like it's a dirty word. I have friends who push paper in office buildings, and a cousin who is actually a secretary, and you keep saying it like it's something to be ashamed of. I'm a little offended. I'd be more offended if I actually thought you had a thing against secretaries, but I really don't think you do."

"I didn't mean anything by it," Laurel tried.

"Yeah, you did. But Felicity, which is her name by the way, is his Executive Assistant. And my friend, and Thea's friend, and she is a good friend, and that's not even the best thing about her. So, you're entitled to feel however you want and say whatever you want, but know your audience, which I would have thought was lawyer 101."

"Roy," Oliver started.

"Sorry, man. I can't back down on this. I know she's your…no, I really don't know what Laurel is to you. Do you know?" he said turning to Thea.

Thea, while speechless, couldn't help but smile at him. Although she knew he liked Felicity, she hadn't realized exactly how much. Roy was one to speak his mind, but poking around in the Laurel mess and possibly antagonizing Oliver, even in defense of Felicity, was surprising, but also… so Roy. Despite whatever Laurel and even Oliver's reaction would be to his (_awesome and true) _outburst, Roy would definitely be on the receiving end of Thea's *gratitude* tonight.

"I was actually going to ask where you guys wanted to be dropped off, or if you're staying at the mansion tonight. Although, I think now I'll add 'quit while you're ahead'."

"Message received," he replied. He turned to Thea and whispered, "He's inviting me to stay at the isolated, Queen-pay-rolled mansion…he is going to kill me."

She rolled her eyes. "Stop it," she whispered back. "My brother's not really the type to run around killing people because they mouth off." Roy scoffed. "If he catches us having sex, then he will kill you." Roy moved to the other side of the car. She caught Oliver's eye in the rearview mirror. "We'll head back to the mansion with you."

Laurel huffed out an indignant breath. "That's all you have to say?" Laurel said when Oliver pulled up to her building.

"I don't actually disagree with him, Laurel."

"That's great," she said, rolling her eyes, "typical Ollie."

"I don't know what you mean by that, but honestly, I'm not taking the bait tonight. Right now, I'm going to go home and spend time with my sister and her boyfriend. I think it would be best if we both had a little time to think about…whatever this is," he said, waving a hand between them and then throwing a glare to the backseat where Roy's snort came from. "Good night, Laurel."

She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped when Oliver gently shook his head. She gave a small nod and climbed out of the car.

The drive to the mansion had been quiet, but not uncomfortable. Thea noticed Oliver visibly relax as they got closer to home. At one point he even started chuckling to himself in the front seat. At Roy's questioning look, Thea just shrugged her shoulders and smiled.

"So," Thea said as they made their way into the kitchen, "I'm thinking s'mores and a movie."

"How can you possibly fit more food into your body?" Roy asked. Thea spun around, eyes narrowed, jamming her finger into his chest. Roy threw his hands up in surrender. "S'mores and a movie sound great."

"I thought so," she said, making her way to the pantry.

Oliver pulled open a drawer and grabbed a pack of skittles. He set the unicorn he had saved from the fair onto the counter, and opened the skittles. "Can I borrow your phone quick?" he asked Thea.

"Why?"

A small blush rose to Oliver's cheeks. "Please." He set the unicorn on its feet and lined up a handful of skittles behind it. Roy and Thea exchanged a look that had Oliver rolling his eyes. "It's a joke. She mutters 'unicorn poop' every time she has to make changes to my schedule at work. The internet says…I can't believe I am having this conversation. The internet says unicorn poop is rainbow colored." Oliver scrubbed his hands over his face as Thea and Roy stared at him. "Can I please just borrow your phone?"

"Can you please just use your own phone to take pictures of unicorn poop?" Thea deadpanned.

Oliver narrowed his eyes at her. "I want to send the picture to Felicity."

Thea raised her eyebrows in question. Oliver stared at her.

"Ha," Roy said from beside Thea. "He's banned til Wednesday."

"Shut up, Roy."

"Don't be mad at me. I didn't ban you, man."

"Roy."

"You could use my phone. I'm not banned."

Thea laughed and handed her phone to Oliver. He took the picture, sent it to Felicity, and handed Thea back her phone. "I don't think she would have minded you actually sending that from your own phone. We could even call her and even invite her over to hang out."

"No. She wants alone time. She deserves it."

"Come on, it'll be fun."

"Something wrong with your present company?" he asked.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "No. I'm just saying that friends hanging out with friends is fun." Her phone started to ring. She glanced at the screen. "Speak of the devil," she said, putting the phone to her ear. "You guys gather the s'more stuff, I'll go pick out a movie. "Hey," she said into the phone as she made her way out, "Yes, it is what it seems. Oliver used the internet. I don't know if it can be considered successful…"

Oliver shook his head at his sister as she left the room. He started grabbing the makings for s'mores while Roy sat down at the counter. He felt Roy tracking every movement.

"What?" he finally said.

"I'm sorry if I made things harder for you with Laurel." He held up his hand when Oliver started to speak. "I'm not sorry for what I said, I stand by that completely. Felicity is my friend."

"She's my friend, too."

"Yeah, and Laurel?"

"It's complicated and not really your business."

"Parts of it are complicated, and Felicity is my friend, so it is my business. My entire life has depended on watching my surroundings and being able to read people. Where I come from you don't last long if you don't pay attention to that kind of thing. So I understand a lot more than people think."

"Oh, yeah," Oliver said, dismissively.

"Yeah," Roy countered. "In fact, I understand why you really keep so much from Thea. I know why you want me to keep things from her."

"It keeps her safe."

"Kind of. It keeps her away from some of the violence of it all, but…" he trailed off.

"Just say it, Roy."

"You told me once that you knew I loved Thea, that you could see it. And she is the most amazing part of my life. She is resilient, and tougher than we think, and forgiving. And sometimes when she looks at me I just breathe easier because I know how much she loves me. I can see it in _her_ face."

"You can't tell her, and I am both sorry and not sorry for that."

"I hate lying to her. I hate it. But I don't want her to know for the same reason you don't: I'm afraid of losing her when she finds out I'm a monster; a psychopath.

Oliver's entire body stilled. Roy watched him swallow once, his eyes squeezed shut. He pulled in and blew out a deep breath and looked Roy in the eye. "I wanted to keep you out of this. I tried to keep both of you out of this, Roy."

"I _believe_ in _this_. Thea would love me anyway, I think. But I imagine her face in that second and it scares the hell out of me, man." Roy's eyes darted around the room, finally meeting Oliver's. "So, the best I can do is keep _our_ secret safe, for as long as I can, for both of our sakes."

Oliver was silent, but gave Roy a small nod.

"My point in all of this is to say: I understand a lot of why you do what you do. I understand you wanting to keep Laurel in your life. Here's the part I don't: you have someone in your life that you never have to worry about seeing you as a monster. Felicity will stand beside you no matter what. She would do that for all of us, Thea included. You're lucky to have someone so close and so important, and luckier than any of the rest of us that you don't have to hide anything from her."

"Felicity and I…we aren't in a relationship like you and Thea. It's different.

Roy sighed and shook his head. "I'm not trying to play matchmaker; that's Thea's project."

"What?"

Roy waved his hand in the air, shooing the question away. "We are a team. Twice today Laurel took a shot at her. The first time she stood up for herself, the second I did. Both those times it should have been you doing it, without hesitation. Felicity gives up a lot to protect us all and sometimes she has to take a hit for the team. She shouldn't have to take shit from your girlfriend, and she shouldn't have to lie about why she's around. She's my friend, but she's your friend, too. She stands beside you and you should do that for her, and it shouldn't matter who else is standing there."

"Hey," Thea yelled from the hallway into the kitchen. "What is taking you guys so long?" She took in the scene in front of her, Oliver, with his jaw clenched; Roy with his hands held up in front of him. "Ollie?"

Oliver glanced from Roy to Thea, and back to Roy. He hadn't realized it, but he was now standing right in front of Roy, fists balled up at his sides. He took a step back, grabbed his phone, and turned to Thea. "I have to leave."

"No." She grabbed his arm and glared at Roy. "What did you do?"

Roy began shaking his head, getting ready to defend himself. Oliver laid his hand over Thea's. "He didn't do anything wrong, Thea. I'm not leaving because of him."

"Then why are you leaving," Thea asked, confused.

"Felicity is my friend."

"Yes, I know that," Thea said, still confused.

"Felicity is a great friend, and a great person," he huffed out a breath and smiled. "And those aren't even the best things about her."

"Ok." She turned to Roy. "Did he hit his head? Did you hit him in the head? Cause he is not making any sense."

"Sometimes I'm an idiot."

Thea smiled at her brother. "Oddly enough, that makes things a little clearer." She grabbed Roy's hand and started pulling him from the kitchen. She smiled over her shoulder. "Good luck, Oliver." He gave her a small nod, and she turned back to Roy. "If we're not gonna watch a movie, let's go make one."

"I heard that, Thea," Oliver shouted from somewhere near the door. At the same time Roy whisper-shouted, "He will kill me, Thea."

Thea laughed. "I'll make it worth your while." She paused, listening. She heard the front door open and close. She looked Roy in the eye and gave him a quick, chaste kiss on the lips. "Thank you, for whatever you said."

"Felicity is my friend," he said. Thea raised her eyebrow. "And so is Oliver, but let's not make it a thing."

Thea laughed and pulled him up the stairs. "We won't, but let's go celebrate it anyway."


End file.
